SUV bomb scare case: Sachin Waze dismissed without departmental inquiry

Sachin Waze

The Mumbai police on Tuesday dismissed tainted cop Sachin Waze arrested for his alleged role in the Ambani bomb scare case and the murder of Thane business Mansukh Hiran. An order issued by the city police chief said that holding a regular departmental inquiry against Waze will not be "reasonably practicable".

The order by Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale said Waze wrote a threatening letter to a renowned businessman to extort money for himself and others. This the first time the force has made such a statement. The threat letter was addressed to industrialist Mukesh Ambani and his wife.

The National Investigation Agency probing the two cases against Waze has said that the controversial policeman was trying to become a supercop by solving the bomb scare case and to shed his tainted image.

The order says, "Waze to conceal and destroy evidence which would incriminate him in the above case allegedly dumped CPU, DVR and other important articles in this offence. These evidence were recovered at the instance of Waze under section 27 of Indian Evidence Act."

The dismissal letter also talks about Waze's alleged involvement in Hiran's murder. It says Hiran was killed to destroy evidence and stall the investigation. It goes on to say that Waze had booked a room at hotel Oberoi for 100 days using a fake ID, possessed 62 unaccounted live ammunition "which he seems to have acquired from unknown criminals/person". He also used 25 live rounds of his service pistol officially given to him for police services, which could have been used by him unauthorisedly without reporting to police department, say the order, adding that various "companies were floated by Waze and crores of rupees cumulatively found in their bank accounts, with huge financial transactions".

Waze was arrested by the NIA on March 3 for allegedly planting a Scorpio laden with gelatin sticks near Ambani's home and killing Hiran, whom the SUV belonged to. Apart from Waze, the central agency has also arrested PI Sunil Mane and API Riyazuddin Qazi of Mumbai Crime Branch. Two more accused - Vinayak Shinde, a former Mumbai constable, and Naresh Gor, a bookie - were handed over to the agency bythe Maharashtra ATS after the case was transferred to the former.